Question on Alignment After 2.5" Leveling Kit Install

[quangdog]

Here were my before and after values. The guy at the shop said that they specifically set the caster on the right as far forward as they can due to the crown on the roads in my area. I don't know jack or diddly about alignment (ok, I sortof understand what each of the terms mean) - is this really ok?

It does seem to handle normally post-alignment.

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[P. A. Schilke]

Here were my before and after values. The guy at the shop said that they specifically set the caster on the right as far forward as they can due to the crown on the roads in my area. I don't know jack or diddly about alignment (ok, I sortof understand what each of the terms mean) - is this really ok?

It does seem to handle normally post-alignment.

Hi Kimball,

That is a new one on me.... I do not agree with being out of spec on the right front wheel. 0.5° caster split is likely not going to be felt by you on surface streets, but do not know if you will notice the vehicle not heading straight on slightly crowned freeways but the settings you have will induce a pull to the left, Your call but if it were me, I would have this redone to be within spec.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[quangdog]

Hi Kimball,

That is a new one on me.... I do not agree with being out of spec on the right front wheel. 0.5° caster split is likely not going to be felt by you on surface streets, but do not know if you will notice the vehicle not heading straight on slightly crowned freeways but the settings you have will induce a pull to the left, Your call but if it were me, I would have this redone to be within spec.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

Thanks for the feedback, Phil. The guy at the alignment place indicated they do it that way due to the crown of our surface streets, not the freeways. I rarely get out on the freeway, but on our city streets it does not pull left. I'll pay close attention to whether it ever has a tendency to pull left the next time I'm on the freeway. I may just take it back and insist they match the caster.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Thanks for the feedback, Phil. The guy at the alignment place indicated they do it that way due to the crown of our surface streets, not the freeways. I rarely get out on the freeway, but on our city streets it does not pull left. I'll pay close attention to whether it ever has a tendency to pull left the next time I'm on the freeway. I may just take it back and insist they match the caster.

Hi Kimball,

Like most things with suspension, You can "cure" one thing and degrade another. I do not think you have to be concerned with tire wear or such, but wish to make you aware of a possible pull to the left. If you decide to live with this setup I do not see any grave issues. I just want you to be able to make an informed decision. Make sense?

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[quangdog]

Hi Kimball,

Like most things with suspension, You can "cure" one thing and degrade another. I do not think you have to be concerned with tire wear or such, but wish to make you aware of a possible pull to the left. If you decide to live with this setup I do not see any grave issues. I just want you to be able to make an informed decision. Make sense?

Yes, and I appreciate it a lot. Thanks!

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Here were my before and after values. The guy at the shop said that they specifically set the caster on the right as far forward as they can due to the crown on the roads in my area. I don't know jack or diddly about alignment (ok, I sortof understand what each of the terms mean) - is this really ok?

It does seem to handle normally post-alignment.

Back in the day like 30+ years ago a large percentage of surface streets, especially in rural areas were two lane blacktops and had a significant crown to them. This was to reduce puddling and standing water on the roads. To compensate for that alignment shops would tweak the cross-camber/caster. Typically by setting the car with a little more negative camber and positive caster, however this was usually around a 1/4 of a degree difference for each adjustment.

This guy is doing that, but has the caster set really aggressively and could easily achieve the same result while keeping the caster within the design specs. Another thing to note is with a large percentage of road surfaces these days now being relatively flat the need for such aggressive cross-camber/caster isn't required. I'd personally take it back ans request it to be brought into spec, but that's me.

 

[quangdog]

Back in the day like 30+ years ago a large percentage of surface streets, especially in rural areas were two lane blacktops and had a significant crown to them. This was to reduce puddling and standing water on the roads. To compensate for that alignment shops would tweak the cross-camber/caster. Typically by setting the car with a little more negative camber and positive caster, however this was usually around a 1/4 of a degree difference for each adjustment.

This guy is doing that, but has the caster set really aggressively and could easily achieve the same result while keeping the caster within the design specs. Another thing to note is with a large percentage of road surfaces these days now being relatively flat the need for such aggressive cross-camber/caster isn't required. I'd personally take it back ans request it to be brought into spec, but that's me.

I do live in a somewhat rural(ish) area, and the majority of our roads are of the 2 lane blacktop variety with a pretty good crown. Some areas of town are newer, but even though I only work 3 miles from home, at least 2 miles of that are on roads like this. I've been reading up on caster, and it seems pretty much everyone agrees setting it up this way won't chew up tires, but it may slightly pull one way or the other, and possibly this shop put in too much positive caster on the right. I'm leaning towards going back and asking them to put the right back to 3.7º, rather than the 4º where they set it. But will 0.3º really make much difference?

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Caster won't cause excessive wear to the tires in the same way as camber or toe will. The only point where caster could increase tire wear is by having too much positive caster and that it translates to how much the wheel leans in/out when turning. So the wear is similar to camber but only applicable when in a turn. If you were to do a lot more surface street driving than you stated then this could increase the amount of wear on the outer edges of the front tires. Thus potentially causing premature wear if the tires were not rotated regularly.

As for taking it back for .3 of a degree might not be worth it, but it could be down brought to 3.3-3.5, still achieve the desired results for road crown compensation and not cause excessive wear to the tires due to the increased lean.

 

[Dhass68]

I have been doing wheel alignments and suspension work since Reagan was still President..yikes
While I do agree with a half a degree caster split between the right and the left side(right being 1/2 a degree higher) I definitely wouldn't adjust out of spec unless of course it is some Autocross car or what have you

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